Everyone is familiar with magnetically encoded identification cards such as credit cards, pass-key cards for unlocking doors and monthly commuter passes for use with public transportation systems such as subways and commuter rail systems, and ATM (automatic teller machine) cards for use in automated banking.
Such cards include a magnetic strip which is encoded with, for instance, an identification number. When it is desired to use such a card, the card is either swiped through or inserted into a magnetic code reader which can read the encoded information on the card.
How that information is used depends on the particular application. For instance, when the card is a credit card, the card reader at a retailer typically is coupled to a modem so that it can send the identification information which is read from the card over the telephone lines to a central location which will determine if the number is the number of a valid credit card and whether the proposed purchase is within the authorized credit limit for the holder of that card. The remote system will then return information to the retailer indicating whether or not the proposed credit is granted.
On the other hand, if the card is a subway pass card, or a hotel pass-key card, for instance, the card reader may be locally programmed with a particular identification code which it must recognize in order to unlock the turnstile or hotel room door. When a card is swiped through the reader, if the code on the card matches the preprogrammed code on the reader, entrance is allowed. Otherwise, entrance is not allowed.
In another application for such cards, the card readers are capable, not only of reading information from the card, but also of writing information to the magnetic strip. For instance, a person may purchase a magnetically encoded card for use on a subway system. The card is at first encoded with the purchase price. However, every time the person uses the card to gain access to the subway system, the individual swipes it through a card reader which reads the current amount on the card, determines the cost of the subway ride which the person has just taken, deducts the cost of that ride and re-encodes the card with a new dollar amount equal to the previous amount minus the cost of the ride. The purchaser can use the card until it runs out of money.
Certain telephone companies issue similar cards for making telephone calls from public telephones.
One increasingly common use of magnetically encoded identification cards is in casinos. In particular, many casinos now offer their guests magnetically encoded identification cards (sometimes referred to as comp cards or complimentary cards) which the guest can use to accumulate points during their stay. At the end of their stay or at any other point during their stay, they can redeem the points for prizes and/or discounts at the hotel/casino complex.
For instance, slot machines or gaming tables at the casino may be provided with card readers. When a guest with a comp card sits down at the slot machine or gaming table, he or she inserts the card into the card reader and leaves it there during his or her stay at that location. The card reader will, for instance, credit points to the card for each pull on the slot machine or for each minute spent at the gaming table.
When the person moves on to another activity, he or she retrieves the card from the card reader which either re-encodes the card with the number of accumulated points, or sends information to a central processor to which the card reader is coupled (over a local area network, for instance) which keeps track of the number of points accumulated by each person.
A problem with the above described system is that guests frequently forget to retrieve their cards when leaving a gaming table or slot machine. Particularly at a gaming table, for instance, a person may have sat down and inserted the comp card into the card reader several hours earlier. Thus, by the time he or she gets up to leave, the comp card has been forgotten.
When the person realizes that the card has been lost, he or she must go to the courtesy desk of the casino to obtain a new card. Also, if the casino is using the type of system in which the card itself is encoded with the number of points (rather than the accumulated points being sent to a central memory under the control of the casino), those points will be lost by the guest. However, even more importantly, the time that it takes for the guest to obtain a new card is time away from the gaming tables, slot machine, or other activity. Accordingly, the casino is losing money during this time since the guest is not engaged in an income producing activity for the casino. Further, the guest is not accumulating points during the time which he or she is spending obtaining a new card.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a security chain for a comp card or similar card.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a security chain for a comp card in which comp cards can be easily exchanged.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a comp card security chain the length of which can be easily adjusted.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a comp card security chain which does not have a tendency to cause the card to be prematurely and/or inadvertently yanked out of a card reader.